We're going to approach the reviewing of this year's reflection a little differently and are going to look at the highs, the lows, and the downright uglies of MY family's 2012 as we move into a brand spankin' new year...one that many a crazy preppers (yes, I called you crazy because well, what else is left after you spent loads of money building 6 figure $ bunkers and preaching the canned good gospel amongst us realists when absolutely NOTHING happened?) assured us we wouldn't see. Well, it seems that Dec. 21st has come and gone and we lived to arise to the same sun shining on the same earth on the morning of Dec. 22nd, so now I'll be moving on to what I've liked, what I've loved, what I haven't liked, what I'm so very grateful for, and what I've downright despised about the year 2012 for MY family.
First and foremost, (and most importantly), I have LOVED taking on the role of M-O-M. My baby boy is hands down the most magnificent life force to intercept mine and I am so thankful to be his mommy. I was chosen to be there for him and HE was chosen to be MINE. For that fact alone, I am eternally grateful. He is amazing beyond the definition of words; he's such a divinity that enriches AND challenges my life on a daily basis and at that, more than I ever anticipated that he could or would. He is a true inspiration to me and has forever changed my outlook on the multi-facets that compose interactions with others and life as a whole. Things that I once deemed soooo hugely significant and brightly important, suddenly seem so dim in comparison to him and the overall meaning and defining aspects of life. Like a new lightbulb, it's become vividly clear that I am shaping the personality and defining qualities of another human life form and I know without question that I want to build good, upstanding character within him above anything else. Suddenly, worrying about the meaningless, petty dribble and silly gossip of other chatty catty folk just isn't worth my time or energy anymore. I just do not care. Thus, having a child and being a mommy is obviously a
The GOOD:
**a BEAUTIFUL and HOT summer! While the heat and steaming sun might have brought on a drought of the decades, this tanorexic lady could not have been more pleased as the hot, sultry summer days spent floating on a raft at the Banker Beach were simply delightful. Having good company, family time, and/ or adult beverages to coincide as well? Nothing better. Love. **weekly "family" dinners with the Carpenters. There is absolutely NOTHING better than quality time with good company and the Carpenters are some of our very most favorite people to spend time with. We have been intentional about spending at least some time in at some capacity with them on a weekly basis and well, it has most definitely paid off for all of our well beings. We love them :) Plus, they bought a house in our neighborhood this past July and the way they told me as a surprise was priceless. I'll never forget the effort they put into surprising me and exasperating my excitement - it'll honestly be something I'll never forget. These are people worth having in your life, folks...ones that constantly want to build you up, look out for your well being and best interests no matter what, and support you in any way and I'm counting my blessings daily that they're in mine.
**The C-A-T-S CATS winning their 8TH NATIONAL TITLE!!! Yessir, that was better than spotting a unicorn farting rainbows. And then my child being born within 12 hours of us winning? Amaze.
**My Dad, my Mom, and B's dad turning 60!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! Daaaaag, y'all is oooooold! But it's still good because we have new material for making fun. Yes folks, age 60 is what dream jokes are made of.
**BRAD THOMAS turning 30!!!!!!
**My Big Bub (Zach) getting to spend ONE WHOLE MONTH in Winchester with us while he and Amanda were in from China....weeee ooooo weeeee oooooo...yaaaaaaaay!!!!
**The Poileses having Holden (Jack's bestie) in May. We were actually 3 weeks apart during our pregnancies and then Jack Thomas came early (3 weeks to be exact) while Holden was right on time so now 6 weeks separate the two of them but we love, love, looooooove how close in age they are and because we (their parents) are so close and think so much of each other. This is how lifelong friendships and relationships are established and we are excited to have them established as buddies from the word, "go".
**Spencer (our nephew) starting Kindergarten! Cannot. believe. how. old. he. is.
**Cathryn (Prissy) turning 18! Um, whoa. Crazy. She goes to college this fall. Um...wow.
**The Carpenters bought a brand new BEAUTIFUL house....IN. OUR. NEIGHBORHOOD. And the way they told me to make it a surprise?!? A special memory that I am forever touched by :)
**Redneck Weekend 2012: fun times spent with the Thomases, Blanks, Stones, and Morels at the Blanks' house...and it was Dan's 60th Birthday party!!! Wooooo Hoooooo!!! We LOVE getting together with all the fams...it's such a blast!
**Meeting new peeps at a new school...some of you are downright amaze...you KNOW who you are and well, you pretty much rock my world :) While I was devastated by what happened before...things OBVIOUSLY happen for a reason because there's absolutely NO way I could've functioned under the ruling of Satan (and I mean that as eloquently as it sounds) in my previous placement (teachers as spies and tattle-tales for a puppet-master?!? How old are we? Insecure much?) this year with ALLLLLLL I have going on. I digress though...this is "THE GOOD" section and well, no mention of "the prince of darkness" belongs in the good. The point of this bullet is the new circle of friendships I'm establishing a new school and well, they're divine :)
**This GOOD applies from August to the present: Not having to have at least one night each week devoted to planning until at least 6PM and answering to someone and judgment for that...AND not being frowned upon for leaving before 4 and having a life outside of school. I have my life back and suddenly I'm surrounded by people who get that teaching is what I do...while I LOVE it, it's not my entire life...it's my job and I get to leave all worries from the day at the door...even with the same population of students I worked with before. It's amazing how things are different from place to place.
**Having an almost 5 month maternity leave.....HOLLLLLLLLERRRRRRR! I got put on bedrest on March 19th. Yes folks, MARCH 19TH. That was 2 months before school let out and well, it was simply delightful.
---->However, with any good, there may come some bad or even some ugly. It's not all butterflies and rainbows over here at the Thomas establishment and we are not trying to paint the picture that it is, nor are we above mentioning things that may have rocked our boats a bit. However minuscule they may be, these thins are ever present and cannot go without mentioning because I am not an eternal optimist...I am a realist and I am an honest. You know this. So here it comes...in with the good, comes the bad and the ugly...
...but 2012, you do still win.
The BAD
**Um, WHERE was our winter? 1 snow day? That's booty son! Holy moly! Mother Nature: I am a lady, but I do feel you have been quite the tease and there is one thing this lady cannot handle is a tease. "Arctic Oscillation" the meteorologists threw around. Smarctic schmoscillation my butt. You ma'am, Mrs. Mother Nature, better get your act together this school year...us teachers would all be very much obliged. Thank you.**Obama getting reelected. Seriously folks... I have NO words except, I am let down as a Republican, but mainly as an American because I thought we as a nation would've gotten it together. I realize the opposing candidate may not have been all we'd hoped, but still....seriously?!? Lame.
**The Neon Trees. Sara Bareilles. Kelly Clarkson. Need I said more? The voice of ANY of these people make the thought of putting a pencil through my eyeballs seem more appealing than listening to one more nanosecond of the dribble they spew to the masses as "music". Foul. Just foul.
THE UGLY:
**Having HATE in my heart which all stemmed from the sitch at my previous school. It's been mentioned here up on the times of the Thomases, thus I need not divulge too much or get into it really anymore at all because I've already been through the several deets many a time or ten, but it most definitely got ugggggs McGuggs with some people who needed to be called out about their idiocy, many social faux pas, and downright unfavorable behavior and shrewd and lewd activities unbecoming to ANYONE of the human race. At this point, I have forgiven most because I have moved on (if the recent revealing of certain test scores weren't any vindication to me that things were on the wrong path from the get go and I wasn't wrong to point that fact out, then I'll say [and go with] what's most important...and that is that it's not worth my energy having hate in my heart. Hate is also not a word I wish Jack to have in his vocabulary either), but I assure you, I have NOT forgotten. You know how that works: forgive, but don't forget? What goes around comes around? Karma's a biotch? I know that their day will too soon come and they'll realize they completely backed the wrong horse (again, any certain data prove this?!?) and when the day does come, I plan on being a better friend than they were to me. Or not. because I probably will not see them again... But at least I will be to them in spirit. I do pray for them, more often than one may think, and hope that they receive better treatment than they gave to me. I do wish the best for them...I really do. Anyway, with 2013 rolling in tomorrow, I am officially burying that box of any remnants of hatred I'm still clinging too and thinking of only the positives that I can muster from that experience and rolling on with that. **Pregnancy weight gain. I look in the mirror and see a larger reflection of a girl that once was. This is silly to dwell on because yes, I gained it for the best reason in the world, but now, I really just cannot muster the "full drive" to lose the rest of it. Which is the ugliest thing of all? Who am I? Some unmotivated slothen beast of an almost 30 year old? Ew. When I look in the mirror, I am ashamed and embarrassed. How can I show Jack that he can do anything he sets his mind to or even set goals to aspire to when I cannot even do it myself? I see a physically ugly version of myself from the second half of 2012 and well, ughhhhhhh.
**me trying to start a new school, get a master's and raise a baby all at the same time? Um wowza. Yup, it gets ugly sometimes! I am quite stressed which can be quite ugly. While all of those things are sensational things individually, allll together, they can be a bit ugly because my stress level is through the roof and my motivation for work completion is null (but not void...obviously!). The bright side is that I am fast-tracking it...started last summer (2012) and am already half way done...whoooo hooooo!
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**2012: you were good to me. You gave me my child: my healthy, vibrant, vivacious, flirtatious, sweet, loving little beautiful boy. You gave me his first cry, his first smile, his first grab, his first giggle, his first laugh, his first babble, his first flirt, his first growth spurt, his first tooth, his first picture, his first 9 months of life, his first UK outfit, his first Easter, his first July 4th, his first Halloween, his first Christmas, his Daddy's 30th, his Papaw's 60th, his NanNan's 60th, his Poppy's 60th, his Prissy becoming an adult, his first overnight without Mommy and Daddy, his first sit-up, his first spit-up, his first push-up, his first scoot, his first crawl, his first "real food", his first attachment to a girl (his mommy), his beautiful blue eyes, his first crawl, his first stand, his first fall, his first funny face...and on. And I got to be there for it all.
All in all 2012...you win...because you gave me THAT boy...MY boy, my son, my love of all loves. He encompasses all that is good in my world, especially all that was good about 2012. You gave me the world and it comes in a 20lb package with beautiful blue eyes, spidery long chicken legs, fluttering long eyelashes, a huge gummy grin, a radiating giggle, a megawatt smile, crazy hair, a personality and disposition on life that others would kill for, and an adoration for his Mommy and Daddy that stories are written about. All in all, with him, absolutely NOTHING else matters...no bad, no ugly, no anything else. Everything does and DID happen for a reason and the reason was him. Without the good, the bad, or the ugly of 2012, I would not be where I am today or be the stronger, more centered, more grounded, more tolerant, or more passive person I've grown to be...and most importantly, the person WITHOUT hate in my heart. I AM thankful for you, 2012, because 2012, YOU are my love letter to one Mr. Jack Robert Thomas. Well played 2012, very well played indeed.**
Way fun to read! Really wish we had like one day a week with no kids at school to chit chat! :)
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